Understanding cross-country variation in the long-term consequences of graduating at a bad time: A comparison of five European countries

This working paper investigates if graduating in a bad economy scars careers of youth cohorts in terms of increased future unemployment and overrepresentation in fixed-term and involuntary part-time work. These dynamics of scarring are explored from a cross-country comparative perspective, focusing on the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Finland. These countries make up for interesting cases as they differ remarkably on institutional and economic dimensions such as for example the vocational orientation of their education systems, the strictness of employment protection legislation, active labour market policies to support job-search success of jobless young people and the general level of prevalent youth unemployment, which are assumed to be related to cross-nationally distinct patterns in scarring effects. The focus of the empirical analysis is on long-term effects of the level of aggregate youth unemployment at graduation on career evolvement of school-leaver cohorts over 12 years since their graduation, distinguishing between educational groups while allowing for gender effects. All in all we find that bad luck in timing of labour market entry can scar future careers over the long-run. A bad economy at labour market entry may thus be seen as a major risk factor for the future integration of youth cohorts in very different institutional contexts

MRL voor oxaalzuur in honing

Oxaalzuur is onmisbaar voor de late herfst-/winterfase in de geïntegreerde bestrijding van de varroamijt (Varroa destructor). Daarom heeft de Europese Werkgroep voor Varroabestrijding een procedure opgestart bij de EMEA (EU Agentschap voor Evaluatie van Medische Producten) voor toelating van oxaalzuur als veterinair medicament. Onderdeel van de procedure was de opstelling van een MRL-dossier (Maximum Residu Level) over de toxiciteit van oxaalzuur en de mogelijke residuvorming in honing. Het resultaat van een en ander is dat oxaalzuur nu toegepast kan worden zonder dat een maximumgrens gesteld is voor residuen in honin

Residuen in honing bij continu gebruik van THYMOL als varroabestrijdingsmiddel

Het Zwitserse bijeninstituut Liebefelde doet onderzoek naar de thymolresiduen in honing van volken die meerdere jaren achter elkaar een continubehandeling hebben ondergaan met thymol, volgens de Frakno-thymolmethode (genoemd naar de ontwerper Franz Knobelspies). Uit de eerste resultaten blijkt dat de gemeten thymolconcentraties in de buurt liggen van de in Zwitserland geldende maximumwaarde (0,8 mg thymol per kg honing) en dat de continubehandeling met thymol nog niet kan worden aanbevolen i.v.m. twijfels over de honingkwaliteit. Het verwijderen van de thymol gedurende de dracht kan het residu in de honing verminderen, maar dan kan de varroamijtbestrijding (Varroa destructor) onvoldoende zijn. Het systeem mag overigens in Nederland niet worden toegepast. Artikel vertaald uit Das Bienenmütterchen 55(7/8):147-148(2003) en 55(9):166-167(2003

Honeybee Colony Vibrational Measurements to Highlight the Brood Cycle

Insect pollination is of great importance to crop production worldwide and honey bees are amongst its chief facilitators. Because of the decline of managed colonies, the use of sensor technology is growing in popularity and it is of interest to develop new methods which can more accurately and less invasively assess honey bee colony status. Our approach is to use accelerometers to measure vibrations in order to provide information on colony activity and development. The accelerometers provide amplitude and frequency information which is recorded every three minutes and analysed for night time only. Vibrational data were validated by comparison to visual inspection data, particularly the brood development. We show a strong correlation between vibrational amplitude data and the brood cycle in the vicinity of the sensor. We have further explored the minimum data that is required, when frequency information is also included, to accurately predict the current point in the brood cycle. Such a technique should enable beekeepers to reduce the frequency with which visual inspections are required, reducing the stress this places on the colony and saving the beekeeper time

Thermoregulation of foraging honeybees on flowering plants: seasonal variability and influence of radiative heat gain

1. During nectar and pollen foraging in a temperate climate, honeybees are exposed to a broad range of ambient temperatures, challenging their thermoregulatory ability. The body temperature that the bees exhibit results from endothermic heat production, exogenous heat gain from solar radiation, and heat loss. In addition to profitability of foraging, season was suggested to have a considerable influence on thermoregulation. To assess the relative importance of these factors, the thermoregulatory behaviour of foragers on 33 flowering plants in dependence on season and environmental factors was investigated

Predictive Markers of Honey Bee Colony Collapse

Across the Northern hemisphere, managed honey bee colonies, Apis mellifera, are currently affected by abrupt depopulation during winter and many factors are suspected to be involved, either alone or in combination. Parasites and pathogens are considered as principal actors, in particular the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, associated viruses and the microsporidian Nosema ceranae. Here we used long term monitoring of colonies and screening for eleven disease agents and genes involved in bee immunity and physiology to identify predictive markers of honeybee colony losses during winter. The data show that DWV, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor and Vitellogenin can be predictive markers for winter colony losses, but their predictive power strongly depends on the season. In particular, the data support that V. destructor is a key player for losses, arguably in line with its specific impact on the health of individual bees and colonies